The first clearly discernible moment of music at the tenth Voodoo Experience in City Park occurred around 11:15 Friday morning: A ragged B chord, courtesy of local garage-glam rock quartet The Bad Off's "You See All This Light."

In the newly expanded Preservation Hall Tent, The Bad Off raised an un-Preservation Hall-like racket under the watchful gaze of traditional jazz legends Dede Pierce and Emmanuel Paul, peering down from oversize photos.

As he wailed through his band's first-ever Voodoo performance, lean, hyper-kinetic lead singer Erik Corveaux shimmied, shook and sweat much like another frontman slated to appear later Friday, on a much larger stage: the Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland. There are, however, some crucial differences between the two. "I'm a lot healthier," Corveaux noted. "A LOT healthier."

But not too healthy: Corveaux distributed homemade "butterscotch pudding" made with "real butter and real Scotch." "The proof," he joked, "is in the pudding."

As in 80 proof.

Corveaux was undeterred by the early start time and sparse crowd. "It felt right," he said after the Bad Off's set crashed to a close with "Cherry Wild." "Any time is the right time, especially at a festival."

As he spoke, Corveaux poured out liquid from his shiny off-white shoes. Was that sweat?